It was so hard to keep these to myself for so long, but I can finally share Jill's bridals!! This is what I wrote for her on her wedding day.
Jill and I have been friends since June 16, 2010. I know because I wrote it down.
Now, before I continue you need to know a little bit about me. I am an introvert and I don’t enjoy making new friends. There, I said it. It’s intimidating and exhausting and I would rather only have a few really amazing friendships than a ton of "ok" ones. I am also obsessed with detailing my car. This will make more sense later.
So back to Jill. We met in our first studio class, the first day of which, I ran smack into a glass wall because I was looking at my phone. I know how to make a great first impression. We maybe talked four times our first two years together, only one of which I remember. Jill was working at Copy Corner and helped me make some changes to my portfolio. I remember thinking to myself that that kid was a genius.
My second summer in College Station we interviewed for the same internship, and when I got the call saying I got it, I was shocked. I WAS BETTER THAN JILL BRAGDON. I later found out that they hired both of us, but I was cool with that. I WAS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS JILL BRAGDON. I was very impressed with myself.
And so began our friendship. We bonded over how awful the internship turned out, breakups, and the loss of family and pets. We spent many nights making funfetti cookies, eating blueberry muffins for dinner, and making really ridiculous videos. I even let her wash her car with me (this is officially the day we became friends).
Now, I have a history of being honest with Jill, mostly because I tend to speak before I think. Our first semester as friends we had a really awful project. One day in particular, Jill was having a pity party and I was testy and finally blurted out that she needed to suck it up and quit her… griping. Full disclosure, I didn’t use the word griping. That didn’t go over well. It was our first official fight.
A few years ago for Christmas, I got Jill the first book in a series we were collecting. Each book in this series has a letter on the front cover, so in total there are 26 books and they make the alphabet. I told her I was going to get her the “J,” but that cover was ugly so I got her the “A” instead. This was said while holding the unopened present she had gotten me in my hand. She got me the “J.”
More recently she spent a good chunk of money to have her hair colored, and she excitedly sent me a picture. I responded that I couldn’t really tell it was any different. I tried to cover that one by saying that I just hadn’t seen her with her hair fixed in a long time, but that didn’t seem to help the situation.
When things started to get serious between Jill and Wade, she asked me what I thought about him, knowing she would get an honest answer. And honestly, I was more worried about what he would think about me because I knew he was going to be sticking around.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Bob Perks:
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
And when in doubt, remember Ephesians 4:2-3
"Be completely humble and gentle; Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace."
